Principal Financial Group Inc. Boosts Stock Position in Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK)

Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK - Free Report) by 4.1% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 960,178 shares of the utilities provider's stock after purchasing an additional 37,453 shares during the quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned 0.12% of Duke Energy worth $110,709,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in DUK. Northwest Investment Counselors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Duke Energy during the third quarter valued at $30,000. Fortitude Family Office LLC grew its stake in Duke Energy by 69.6% in the second quarter. Fortitude Family Office LLC now owns 290 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 119 shares during the last quarter. Olistico Wealth LLC purchased a new position in Duke Energy in the second quarter valued at about $30,000. Sachetta LLC grew its stake in Duke Energy by 41.9% in the second quarter. Sachetta LLC now owns 325 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $36,000 after purchasing an additional 96 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Reston Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in Duke Energy in the third quarter valued at about $38,000. 65.31% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

DUK has been the topic of several analyst reports. Evercore ISI lifted their target price on Duke Energy from $108.00 to $115.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 7th. KeyCorp lowered Duke Energy from an "overweight" rating to a "sector weight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 22nd. Jefferies Financial Group initiated coverage on Duke Energy in a research note on Thursday, September 19th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $138.00 target price on the stock. Mizuho upgraded Duke Energy from a "neutral" rating to an "outperform" rating and boosted their price target for the stock from $116.00 to $121.00 in a research note on Tuesday, October 15th. Finally, Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on Duke Energy from $114.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 25th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $121.85.

Duke Energy Stock Performance

Shares of Duke Energy stock traded up $2.15 on Friday, reaching $113.23. 3,788,549 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,321,600. The company has a quick ratio of 0.53, a current ratio of 0.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.56. Duke Energy Co. has a twelve month low of $86.61 and a twelve month high of $121.25. The firm has a market capitalization of $87.44 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.85, a PEG ratio of 3.10 and a beta of 0.47. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $115.84 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $108.73.

Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, November 7th. The utilities provider reported $1.62 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $1.73 by ($0.11). Duke Energy had a net margin of 14.29% and a return on equity of 9.71%. The company had revenue of $8.16 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $8.06 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.94 earnings per share. The company's revenue was up 2.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts anticipate that Duke Energy Co. will post 5.98 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Duke Energy Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 16th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 15th will be issued a $1.045 dividend. This represents a $4.18 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.69%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 15th. Duke Energy's payout ratio is presently 76.98%.

Duke Energy Profile

Duke Energy Corporation, together with its subsidiaries, operates as an energy company in the United States. It operates through two segments: Electric Utilities and Infrastructure (EU&I), and Gas Utilities and Infrastructure (GU&I). The EU&I segment generates, transmits, distributes, and sells electricity in the Carolinas, Florida, and the Midwest.